Fairytales belong in the sky
by Nova-Cane-Love
Summary: Ginny and Hermione take to the skies to help defend their villages from the attack of dark wizards and foul beasts. Join them on another journey to protect the innocent from the evil forces that lurk deep within the shadows. They go off in search of distant lands that hold promises, or are they just whispers changed by the winds of time?
1. Chapter 1

Fairytales belong in the air

It is a time where the riders are plentiful, a time where they are free to roam and travel on their own across the lands they had fought so hard to keep. A land where evil once strived to take everything, where power hungry wizards mowed down all of those they came across. All of those that strived for the light, and strayed from the dark. The dragons sensed times where changing, an upheaval was at hand. Their riders where present amongst the younger generation, it was their time. They came out of hiding, slowly but surely, showing themselves warily to those who contain a magic so potent it radiated out into the world around. Their eggs would crack, and they would hatch only in the presence of their riders, their companions. Each village was blessed with at least two or three of the gifted and their dragons. Those who would go on to turn the tables and defeat the evil that plagued the land. Protect the innocent, and the weak.

After many battles the wars where finally won, and the lands descended into that of peace once more. Ruled by small colonies that worked together when the times came to trade and keep each other alive. Villages that thrived, and where full of people happy to live side by side. Trade and farm the days away, sleep contented knowing they where protected at night.

The riders would set out with the sun, scan the world beneath them. Keep a watchful eye out for the citizens of their villages. The lands where not entirely free of the blood thirsty, not entirely free of evil. It lurked, in the shadows; in holes so deep you'd never find the bottom. Planning, and plotting to take back what they felt was theirs. The evil wizards who where left behind, in the wake of their kind having fallen. Pushed deep into the unexplored regions of the lands. Into hiding, disguised as the innocent amongst those who had no idea they where even there.

Cranorgs, beasts that where feared for miles around still lurked, waiting for the cover of the dusk to take to the planes and wreak havoc on unsuspecting towns. Hungry for human flesh, a hunter that had rightfully earned it's feared title.

Tonight is a night like any other, though the nights where beginning to become shorter now. The bright orange of the sun cast hazy shadows along the valley as she flew overhead. Her long red tresses tied back with a green lace that fluttered in the wind, her body was protected with small amounts of strong hide armor. Her head tucked in closely to her dragons spine, feeling how he moved with the currents of air, feeling his powerful wings beat and flex as they continued to rise higher into the sky. Her hold on the beast was loose and practiced, as they moved as one. Their vision merged, and she saw the colours of the world through his sharp eyes. How the earth moved beneath them, peacefully and without purpose.

Thos dragon a mighty beast, his scales shiny and red in colour and his eyes a piercing green. Scanning the surrounding area with ease, as he did every night. More than content with carrying his rider on his back. "I don't think we're going to find anything tonight" The girl thought, her voice would be wasted taken by the air if she had spoken.

"We don't find much these days" He thought back, his voice bouncing around in her head as he drawled his thoughts in a bored tone.

"I know, I know, but it's our turn, the others wouldn't be too happy if we got raided on our night" She chuckled as she thought of the last part. It wasn't likely in the days they lived in, but it wasn't impossible. They still had to be on their guards. A horde of Cranorgs or Drankor would not be a good thing. Cranorgs, though fearsome where not fire resistant.

Drankor, however were. The only way to kill them was close combat and that hardly ever turned out well. If a herd of them came through without the warning from the skies, the villages would be almost done for.

An ear piercing scream ripped through the crisp dusk air. Within moments the dragon had shot down in a nose dive towards the ground. "Easy! I don't want to die before I get there!" The girl thought with a laugh as she held closer to the dragon.

Soon they where landing easily on the ground in a patch outside a small forest. The redhead was off her dragon's back, and running towards the shadows of the tree's in the direction of the scream. Her swords drawn from their holsters on her back, unsure of what she'll find.

Another scream, there had to be at least two people. She was sure of it. Two women, she thought as she tried to determine what she would be met with once she reached her destination.

Her strong war toned legs carried her easily through the brush into the depths of the shielded darkness. Her dragon flew overhead, high above the canopy, providing what protection he could.

"Ahead of you, A group of nomads cornered by thieves, they're bound" The dragons voice flooded through her head, and she huffed. Typical, just typical.

A clearing ahead told her that's where they'd be. Slowing her pace, she moved around it, into a better position. Her eyes fell onto the scene before her, two women, tied to tree's opposite, two boys bound together seemingly unconscious on the floor. The victims, she assumed.

Her sight carried to three rather large men. They were each holding what looked like wands at arms length, pointed towards the group. The leader, or what looked like the leader at least was muttering something about being perfect for the job, and their master had chosen correctly. Rolling her eyes, the redhead sheathed her swords.

"There's another dragon" Her companion's voice rang once again, deep and worried. "It's friendly, I can tell that much. It can't get to her rider through the tree's" He thought again, this was good, this could help. Pulling her wand from it's holster strapped tightly to her leg she approached carefully before bursting into the clearing. "STUPIFY!" she shouted loudly, sparks flying from the end of her chosen weapon. There would be no need for spilt blood tonight. Two of the attackers went down, and with a few swift motions the trees around them sprang to life. Vines descending slowly and wrapping around their unconscious forms. "well, that was too easy" she grumbled.

"Who are you?!" The leader growled, "You have no business here! Leave before I kill you!" He shouted.

"I dare you" The redhead spoke coldly, her voice strong as she annunciated every word. She knew this would be easy, too easy in fact.

"Avada Kadavra!" The boy shouted weakly, like he didn't really mean it. Standing wide eyed as it bounded off a strong shield charm she had cast around herself.

"Expelliarmus" She yelled back before he had time to move for another spell. The redhead quickly moved into her next and he was taken up into the living tree's unarmed and screaming bloody murder.

She turned back to those tied up. "Our wands! They took our wands!" One of the girls yelled.

Rolling her eyes the redhead looked around the surrounding area's, her eyes fixed on a pile of what looked like sticks. Quickly grabbing them, she unbound the victims. "Hurry up! Who has the dragon?"

"Me, I do, but she can't carry us all" The blonde girl spoke, her voice seemed dreamy and panicked at the same time.

"Tell her to land with mine at the edge of the forest, I can carry two more with me" She quickly explained.

'I can't carry three for long' Her dragons voice rang again, rebounding in her skull.

'We'll take them to the village, it'll be safe for them there' She quickly thought back, suddenly in a rush to get the group out of there.

"You two grab one, I'll get the other" She ordered, hoisting a man with black hair off the floor. His groans sounded as she roughly pulled him around.

"Through here" The brunette of the two spoke, her voice seemingly calm and commanding. "They'll be awake soon, and I don't know how long those vines will hold" She spoke again, shooting a strained smile back at the redhead.

She was right, snapping sounds emanated from behind them as they hurried through the trees. Shouting soon followed, then a bombardment of spells cracking and splintering the bark of tree's they managed to duck behind.

Soon they were out of the dense tree's and into the clearing. Both dragons awaited them eagerly. The other was a light blue colour, with bright eyes that seemed to study the redhead as she emerged from the tree's behind the three that where obviously familiar to her.

She rested the boy she was all but dragging down onto the grass and went to help the others get the unconscious man onto the pale blue beast. Her hands found his shirt, bunching into it as she pushed him up towards the beast's shoulders. Holding him along with the brunette as the blonde climbed behind him. "Go, up now we'll be quick" The redhead ordered, and dragged the brunette back towards the gleaming red dragon. The familiar gust of wind and sound of beating wings reached her ears from behind them.

Once they where at her dragons side, she helped hoist the pair onto her companion with ease. Climbing onto his back behind to two easily, he took off. The girl in front of her seemed to tense as they rose higher, followed by sparks of spells fading into the distance.

Their fly home was as uneventful as it was before the commotion happened, and soon they landed before the gates of her home village. Lytherise was a small farming village, humble in size.

Quickly climbing down, she helped the others off the dragons, and was almost instantly met with soldiers to help carry the boys in, to the medics that resided there. As they where carried away, she sighed in relief, a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

One of the other riders approached, "Do we need to get the others?" his voice held a frantic undertone to it. The war had taken it's toll on him especially hard. He was a large man, broad shoulders and his hair as equally bright as the younger girls.

"No, it was just what seemed to be thieves, they're magical, these" she motioned behind her towards the two girls standing warily beside the gates "are magical".

"I'll let the others know" The man spoke, and with that he was gone once again.

The redhead turned to the girls she had helped rescue and smiled a careful smile. "I'm Ginny, and this is Loci" She spoke as she made her way towards her comrade, flattening a hand against his scales soothingly. The large beast seemed to nod at the two, and then towards the slightly smaller blue dragon. "And that was my brother Ron, he's also a rider of Lytherise" She introduced all she needed to.

"Luna!" The blonde said happily, a dazed smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Thank you for aiding us, we've been running from those creeps since our village was destroyed by the dark lords followers." She explained "And this is Raina, the boy that was with us, His name is Neville, and I'm sure he thanks you too" She smiled an even wider smile.

The redhead turned to the brunette who was yet to speak, and smiled a shy smile, rubbing the back of her neck. "And, you are?" she asked politely.

"I'm Hermione Granger, and I hate heights or I'd have said thank you on the way here; but thank you for helping us and the boy with us was Harry" She smiled a small sheepish smile.

"Well, Hermione" Ginny spoke, bowing her head slightly, "Luna, and Raina it is very nice to meet you"

Loci relaxed behind her, and moved towards the wavy haired girl, nuzzling his nose into her stomach only to be met with a shriek of delight.

"Loci likes you" She smiled a cheeky smile up at the brunette before throwing her a wink. Causing the brunette to blush a deep blush.

Someone clearing their throat behind her caused the redhead to turn around. Her brother was stood rather awkwardly, twiddling his thumbs. "They are welcome to stay for as long as they wish, however, we'll have to put them in the barn" He spoke, flicking his eyes between his sister and the two girls.

"nonsense, they can have my room, I'll sleep with Loci in the barn, and I'm sure there's enough room for Raina here if she has no objections" The redhead regarded the blue dragon kindly, her light hazel eyes sparkled as she took the magnificent creature in, before they looked towards the dragons owner.

The blondes smile never faltered. "I'll stay with Raina also, She likes the company" Her answer was sweet, and fair.

Hermione cleared her throat, and looked slightly awkward. "I really couldn't be the only one to put you out of your room, I'm okay with the barn too" she said politely.

The redhead beamed, clapping her hands together. "well Ron, looks like we're all sleeping in the barn!" She smirked a cheeky smirk before waving for the pair to follow her towards their residence for the evening.


	2. Chapter 2

A/n To whoever reads this! This is un-beta'd and my grammar is terrible. Please forgive me I do try and go back over everything and fix what mistakes I can find.

Also, leave a review if you like. I know I'd love to hear what you guys think of this! Random idea I had, put it to paper and so far I really like it.

Bodsquad you are wonderful

Chapter 2

The sun has been down for a while now and Ginny found herself surrounded by not only two strangers and a new dragon; but the family's live stock too. The one side of the barn that was left for Loci and Rex was made into a small room for the three girls. A few spare blankets where put around, and bales of hay stacked as make shift beds. The redhead sat with her large companion wrapped around her, his tail curled tightly around her torso as she leant comfortably against his stomach. They spent many nights like this; just being together. Their connection unrivalled by any but the other riders. The redhead was sure nobody would ever understand her better than the dragon she called her best friend. They were made for each other, destined to fit as an almost unstoppable pair. Her mind wandered as she thought carefully about what the blonde had said earlier, what the goons in the forest had said unaware she had been there. Was there an uprising in their midst? Would there be another try at dragging the light back into the depths of the dark?

Muttering from the other side of the space caught her attention and she looked up. Her sparkling hazel eyes meeting dark chocolate orbs for the first time, and she finally really noticed the girl. It was no secret Ginny didn't find men attractive; in fact it was probably rather obvious. She had always assumed she would grow old with only Loci beside her. That she was alone in the attraction for the same sex. Men just weren't delicate enough for her liking. They were so rough and coarse and not gentle enough. Sure some men could be, but they still didn't appeal to her. She allowed her eyes to scan the girl over and she was probably the prettiest girl the redhead had laid eyes on. Her hair was long and wavy it framed her face perfectly. Her clothes were modest that obviously of someone who had been on the run for a while.

Ginny couldn't help but hope they would stay, at least for a small period of time. She would definitely like to get to know this girl at least as a friend anyway. She was well aware Hermione having any attracting to her was as likely as pigs flying. With a sigh she brought herself back to reality and shook her head.

"She's watching you" Loci's voice rang through her mind but the dragon hadn't moved an inch. His eyes were trained on the girl her mind had been so fascinated with only moments ago.

"Do you think she's dangerous?" She thought back, eyeing her large comrade.

"It depends what you class as dangerous my friend" His voice rang again, wisdom laced in his words as he spoke in riddles. "But no, I don't think her intentions are dangerous" He thought again.

"You make no sense sometimes Loci" The redhead laughed out loud causing the large dragon to huff, blowing some hay across the floor.

"What's funny?" came a dreamy voice, bringing Ginny back out of her head. It was easy to get lost in conversation with your dragon, and therefore lost in your own mind. Her face paled as she realized she laughed out loud, unsure how to reply to the girls question.

Looking over their eyes met and in a way the redhead felt like Luna could see right through her. "Uh… Uh… Well you see, Loci just said something about me being watched and dangerous… but not and… yeh" She stumbled over her own words.

A heated blush manages to make its way across her features and up her neck, tinting the tips of her ears pink. "I mean…" she looked to Loci for help and he just huffed again.

"Hermione's only looking at you so intently because she's trying to figure out if you're like her or not" Luna stated, almost as if she was talking about the most obvious thing on the planet.

"LUNA!" The brunette shrieked, "I was doing no such thing! I was just… I was just admiring her swords!" She tried to defend herself even as her face flushed with colour.

"Humans" Loci grumbled inwardly, causing Ginny to roll her eyes.

"My brother is a blacksmith, he made them for me especially for my holsters" the redhead smiled proudly as she paused to stand up and pull her swords free from their place on her back. "Would you like a closer look?" She asked sheepishly moving a little closer to the brunette girl holding her swords blade down at arms length for the girl to take.

"Uh, yes that would be lovely" Hermione smiled a shy smile before taking one of the sharp implements from the redhead and pretending to examine it thoroughly. To her a sword was a sword; if it had the right balance it was good enough for her.

"It's very nice" She smiled before handing it back to the girl still standing awkwardly in front of her.

Ginny quickly sheathed the weapon and smiled a wide smile, fidgeting slightly as she continued to stand. "I… uh, you're human right?" The redhead asked quietly "because I'm human if that's what you were wondering"

A snort of amusement came from both dragons the blue just looked at her rider and the red scoffed inwardly "You can be so blind Ginevra"

Luna giggled at the confused looking girl, "she was trying to figure out if you liked women too!" She stated once again like it was the most obvious thing.

"LUNA!" The brunette finally called again having snapped out of her redhead induced shock. Part of her couldn't believe the sheepish looking girl had asked what seemed so blatant. Of course she was human!

"Of course I am human! What do I look like to you? A Cranorg?" She almost snapped at the redhead glaring daggers into the offending girl.

"That's not what I meant! I didn't know other people could like the same gender! How was I supposed to know that's what Luna meant?!" She argued back, defending herself as best she could. "And for the record, no you don't look anything like a Cranorg in fact you look like one of the nicest looking human beings I have ever set eyes on, so before you go getting all offended, not all non-humans are Cranorg like! You could have been an elf!" Ginny ranted on; almost stamping her foot once she was finished, though she refrained.

"Oh, well I suppose that's a perfectly reasonable explanation and yes of course others like those of the same sex, it's quite common I'll have you know." Hermione replied, a flustered tone took her voice as she tried not to let the blush creep up her neck and cover her cheeks.

"You're not too bad looking for a human yourself" She shuffled awkwardly.

Ginny flopped down against Loci once again, never breaking eye contact with the brunette they continued to stare at each other awkwardly. Neither of them really knew what to say next, but luckily once again Luna broke the silence.

"Well that's that then, I'm tired and Ginny can show you around the village in the morning while I check on Neville and Harry."

"I'd be honored" the redhead spoke, and beamed a large smile towards both girls.

"I suppose that would be nice" Hermione stated before laying back onto her make shift bed and pulling the blankets around her.

Ginny's eyes sparkled with a renewed light as she cuddled up to her companion allowing his body heat to warm her. Her body relaxed into the large creatures; once again the two melded into one for a new adventure. An adventure full of vivid dreams for the night. It didn't take long for her to fall into a fitful sleep, cradled in the large beast's tender grasp. His scales soft against her cheek as she snored gently.

"Luna" Hermione whispered, hoping to gain the blondes attention.

"Yes Hermione?" The other girl answered dreamily, rolling over on her own make shift bed to look at the older witch.

"Thank you" She spoke quietly. The tint re-appearing across her cheeks as she did. This was a brash decision and Hermione never does brash. It was forward, and in a way scarier than anything else she's ever done. She'd happily stand and fight against a powerful dark lord hoping to murder her and her friends, but when it came to a pretty girl that swooped in and saved them from that mad mans henchmen she quaked in her boots. There was no denying the fact she felt immediately attracted to the girl as she stepped through into the clearing to apprehend those who bound her group of friends. How she moved so gracefully doing what seemed the best to stop any real injuries from happening. It was kind, in a dangerous way. Her eyes were bright and reassuring as she got them away from the henchmen quickly, quenching any doubt with one look. It was odd, an odd spark Hermione felt in deep in the pit of her stomach. Maybe it was time to change; maybe it was time to stay in one place and to settle again. It was time to stop running from the past, and face the future head on. They would defeat those who rose to try and take what was theirs once again, and they would do it with all the ease in the world this time. Tomorrow would bring new light and with it new prospects. She had nearly died multiple times, and she had found someone she was more than attracted to within the first moment they had met. It was time to grab the bull by the horns and be somewhat impulsive.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The redhead rose with the sun the next morning. Awakened by the noise of Loci and Raina leaving through the barn door lazily. Out on the hunt she suspected. Her own stomachs grumble pulled her further from the realm of Morphius. If she was this hungry, she was sure the others had to be also. With that thought she pulled herself from her disturbed resting place. Stretching out her tired frame she yawned a heavy yawn. It had been a while since she had to play hero, and she was sure she didn't want to do it often ever again.

Moving towards the barn door she braced herself and with a small amount of force she began pushing it open. The cattle seemed excited by the prospect of more grazing time and rushed out as soon as there was enough room for them to leave comfortably. She sighed a contented sigh as she wandered towards a small chicken coop to collect breakfast for everyone. Sleepily she wrapped her fingers around a basket set neatly to the side of the hutch before she opened the small door to allow the chickens to roam.

Resting her head on the side of the small coop, she practiced sleeping while standing up waiting for the rest of the chickens to leave their nests. It took a few moments but finally she was free to reach in and gather a nice amount of eggs. With another yawn she lazily padded over towards her family's small cottage, sure her mother was already up and looking for people to fuss over. Once she was through the small squeaky door her suspicions where confirmed. A small plump lady was bustling around over pots and pans already, a healthy amount of light streaming through a window on the wall opposite the door in front of the sink.

"Oh Ginny dear! Where are those lovely girls, I bet they're starved! Hurry up and give me those then go and wake them and let them know breakfast will be ready shortly" Her mother spoke cheerfully as she wiped her hands on her apron eagerly before pulling the basket of eggs from her daughters hands.

"Alright mum, I'll be back in a minute" She obeyed, and left the way she came. Trekking across the yard lazily once again. The grass was still damp with the remnants of the morning's dew, and the sun had just begun heating the almost frosty air. There wasn't a cloud in sight, and it seemed like it would be a nice day. The village was already alive with people wandering around getting ready to begin the days work. It would be a tough winter, but it seems like the stocks should last.

As she approached the open barn door she cleared her throat mentally preparing herself for what was about to happen.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Not Jk Rowling.

A/n: I'm unsure if people actually like this or not, so I'll continue and see what happens.

Let me know what you think.

Chapter 3

A horn sounded loud enough to make the entire village stop. The early morning activities frozen as the noise broke the steady hum of the small city. There was only one thing that horn was used for, and it wasn't good. The redhead's eyes widened and they where met with an equally large set of brown orbs.

"What is that?" Hermione husked out, her voice still thick with the remnence of sleep. "Ginny what is that? That's not what I think it is, is it?"

The redhead nodded slowly "Luna, call Raina take her and get ready, we need to buy the village time"

The bright eyed girl nodded, and rushed from her place. All thoughts of sleep forgotten from their foggy minds as they hurried into action. The horns sound meant one thing, Cranorgs were not far away and there were too many for the riders to take out before they reached the village.

"I'll collect stuff, and go and help whoever needs it" The brunette spoke surely, like this was a common thing for them. Before the war it was common for everyone. Whole villages would be ransacked and torn apart from the inside by the blood thirsty beasts.

"Go to the infirmary, help get the sick or injured out, follow the edge of the forest to the west with the others, and wait there until we come for you" Ginny ordered, her eyes trained on the girl. The sound of beating wings could be heard overhead, followed by a large gust of wind that blew into the open barn doors.

"fine" the brunette huffed, obviously displeased with being left on the ground to help the others run from the impending fight. Though she didn't argue, this wasn't her village what could she really argue about? She followed the blondes lead and rushed from their make shift home.

Once the shorter girl was out of sight Ginny moved out of the barn and was met with her large red dragon. "She wants to help us fight" Loci's deep voice boomed within the girls head.

"It's to dangerous! I can't allow her to get hurt or even killed before I've had chance to learn her last name!" Ginny scowled, her voice rang through the air this time.

"You don't give the girl enough credit, why should Luna get to fight? Because she to has a dragon? Do not limit this war to just us young one" His thoughts rang through her mind once again.

"Fine" She spoke irritated with his words. "I'll go find her, her friends should be well enough to take a horse each and join in the battle" The redhead spoke reluctantly, her voice shaking with a mix of anger and anxiety. She was only a young girl, seventeen and barely an adult. Yet she was burdened with the protection of an entire city. The responsibility weighed heavy on her shoulders as she broke into a run towards the infirmary hoping to catch the smaller girl up. "Hermione!" She yelled at the top of her lungs as she dodged the fleeing people. Her feet were pounding the ground as her long legs took strides equal to that of two smaller people. Her movements practiced and graceful as she finally caught up to the girl.

"What's wrong?" she was met with kind caring eyes full of worry, the smaller girls hands instinctively balling into the shoulders of the redheads shirt as she stopped a little too close.

"Come with me, I'm sure you're friends can take two horses and fight if they are well enough they will have already been instructed to, come on, hurry" The redheads breath was ragged now and strained. Her slightly larger fingers wrapping around the smaller ones of the brunettes hand as she drug her along. "You have magic right? Use that" she called behind her.

"Yeh! I'm better with a wand than a sword, I'll leave that to you" Hermione laughed a small laugh at the thought.

Finally they reached the large dragon awaiting their return, his eyes fell on them in a soft gaze.

"Come on, up you go!" Ginny beamed a wide smile when she turned to see Hermione's face pale at the thought of riding Loci again.

"Ginny!" The brunette squeaked out as she was carefully hoisted onto the large beasts back. Her hands trying desperately to cling onto his mighty body, her own body tensed and uneasy.

Sudden warmth radiated from behind her, and tender hands found her waist. "Relax! We'll be fine!" The voice behind her called into her ears. "Hold on!"

With that the large dragon took to the early morning skies.  
His muscles relaxed and contracted underneath them as he took them higher and further away from the village across open farm land. Hermione felt herself relax slightly when tender fingers drew anxious patters across her sides. The redhead was clearly trying to ease her nerves about flying in whatever way she knew how. Ginny didn't particularly strike her as a 'Good with words' type of person.

The older witch's breath hitched as the horde came into sight. It was bigger than any she'd seen before, and if buying time was all they needed to do they would need to buy a lot of it for the entire town to get away. Her heart sunk into the depths of her stomach, not many people would get away, only those fast enough or smart enough. Only those with horses to carry them faster to the hills than they could possibly run.

"Lower Loci!" Ginny called, her voice filled with desperation.

The dragon obeyed and began a decent towards the ground already littered with bodies. "How the bloody hell did we miss this last night" The redhead growled, causing Hermione to shake her head. "I don't know, I don't" She spoke quietly.

The warmth behind her was gone as soon as they got near enough to the ground for the girl to jump off. She was gone, into the pits of the battle. The glint of her sword was soon lost in the mass of monstrosities.

Hermione followed suit her wand drawn and ready as she began firing every type of curse and hex to take any number of the beasts down at one go. Keeping her distance enough to fire as many spells as possible before any of them could get close enough to harm her.

Her dark orbs caught a familiar black mess of hair, as the boy she had been traveling with ran towards her, his own wand firing into the onslaught. "Where's Neville?!" She yelled over the noise "And Luna?!" her voice was panic stricken.

A growl from behind them broke through the deafening noise of the battle. The brunettes question went unanswered as a Cranorg took hold of her from behind, dragging her panicking to the ground with it's weight. "No! Get off!" she yelled her palms flat against the beasts shoulders as it's snapping jaws began to get dangerously close. "Bloody hell" She swore, giving one last shove it rolled off of her. Her chest expanded as her lungs filled with air she hadn't known she needed. Finding the dagger she had been armed with she pulled it from its holster and sunk it into the dirty blood stained flesh of the beast's neck. It crumpled to the ground in a heap soon to be followed by others that began to get far too close for her wand to be of use.

A flame shot across her line of sight, and illuminated the battle in a flickering orange glow. Soon a blue dragon flew overhead she knew it was Raina and Luna was perched shooting off spells into the horde. They were followed by a large red beast with no rider. It was too big to be Loci, she had to assume it was Ginny's brothers. What was his name? Ron! That was it. She scoffed, only Hermione could be capable of rational thought while people where being slaughtered around her.

She looked around; Harry had disappeared into the midst of the fight. Her eyes caught a glimpse of Neville thrashing his heavy looking sword around. They were loosing, badly. There were still at least three hundred more of the creatures, and most of them had lost interest with the fight continuing on their way towards the village which she now hoped was close to being empty.

A group of the Cranorgs had found something further away very interesting, and followed it in a rush. Hermione couldn't see exactly what had caught their attention, but it was leading them away from the village.

Another dragon flew over head before a siren came once again. "Everyone out! To the forests!" A voice boomed and she followed it. Her legs carried her away towards the tree line that she could see in the distance. Her vision blurred by a smaller red dragon landing before her. "Loci!" she called, and he leaned his side down to allow her access to his back.

Loci had found her first, so where was Ginny? The last she had seen of the redhead was the girl disappearing into the mass of Cranorgs when they had landed. "Loci! Where's Ginny?" Hermione called down to the dragon, though no answer came. She knew he couldn't speak directly to her. As he launched the pair into the air, his wings took them over the scene of the battle.

Hours passed, and they waited on the edge of the forest, the rest of the riders had gone ahead to see what had been left of the village. The horde of Cranorgs gone once again, leaving carnage in their wake. The field of battle was littered with bodies unrecognizable. Her small ragtag group had gotten away just fine and carried on ahead with the rest of the survivors. Hermione had opted to wait for the girl to return. So they sat in the grass and watched, waiting for the rider to return to her dragon. She couldn't be dead? Could she? The large red dragon refused to move from his spot, like he had been ordered to stay there. Stay and wait for the redheaded girl.

Loci's head shot up causing Hermione to jump. "What is it?" She called to him, her eyes scanning the distance. The large reptile like creature fixed his gaze onto one set position and stared at it like it had offended him. The brunette stood, and moved her small body towards the space in the distance, hoping something would become more obvious once she got there. Her wand drawn as she held it out edging closer to the bodies that lay restless. Towards the far side, the side furthest from the village a figure came into view. The person was limping badly, and dragging a sword across the ground. As it came into view a little more clearly, a mass of copper gave their identity away. "Ginny!" The brunette yelled and broke off into a sprint towards the injured girl.

As she got closer she could see the redhead's features more clearly. She was covered in sprays of now dry blood, and her trousers had a rip in them. Her lips had twitched up into a wide smile, betraying her obvious pain.

"Hey! Why didn't you go with the others? I told Loci to get you out of here when it was time" The redhead spoke, her voice rasped as she did so.

"What, why?! Where did you go? Are you hurt? I don't know where the others are I didn't want to leave you after what you had done for us yesterday" The brunette panicked, her fists balling into the shoulders of the taller girls shirt once she was close enough.

It seemed, she couldn't not do that. She felt compelled to touch the girl in some way. 'I'm just holding her steady' the brunette thought as a strip of pink dusted her cheeks.

"I had to lead at least some of them away, I just got sliced one it's fine" Ginny tried to cover up. "It's okay, we'll find the others. We need to check on the village first, then we'll see if Loci can pick up some of the other dragons" She explained with a weary smile.

The large red dragon had followed the brunette, padding along the grass as quietly as he could. "Hey buddy" Ginny smiled, ignoring the shocked expression Hermione was wearing.

"If I didn't know better I'd have thought you were dead" Loci mused inwardly. His head bowing to nuzzle into her abdomen. "This one here refused to go without you, she said she didn't want to leave you alone if you came back" He spoke again, giving them both a knowing look. Like he knew something neither of them did, like there was something he could see that they couldn't.

"Oh really" The redhead sighed, "well that is interesting" she laughed a hearty laugh.

"What on earth are you talking about?!" Hermione spoke, irritation evident in her tone. Her hands still fisted tightly in the taller girls shirt. Dark eyes scanning over pale skin, examining for any injuries she hadn't seen before.

Their eyes met, and the smaller girl searched hazel orbs for any sign of malice, any sign that there was something wrong. But all she found was innocence, a kind innocent warmth that made her feel safe. As safe as she had ever felt so close to someone she'd known a day.

"Are you're friends safe?" Ginny asked, changing the topic entirely.

"They are, they left with the others" Hermione answered truthfully.

"We should get going to, before night falls" Ginny smiled a warm smile, "I don't know if I'll be able to give you that tour though, maybe an aerial version instead?" She offered.

Hermione was perplexed. The girl had just run how far, and fought for how long to save a village she was sure they both knew wouldn't be there when they flew over. Yet the redhead was worried about not being able to show her around?

"You're very strange" The brunette offered, stepping away from the taller girl "But an aerial tour would be lovely, and then we need to get that leg of yours all cleaned up once we find the others" She smiled a small smile, unsure if the taller girl was delusional or just trying to be positive.

"How old are you?" Hermione spoke with an eyebrow raised.

"Seventeen, you?" The redhead replied as she moved towards her dragon, motioning for the shorter girl to get on first.

"Eighteen" Hermione said simply.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The three had set off in search of the rest of the town. Flying over the tarnished grasslands where the battle raged on. It was a battle nobody expected to win, so the losses weren't surprising. Bodies lay so mangled and torn that they were unrecognizable. It was hard to tell Cranorg from human as it stood. But the dead were the dead. Loci's large jaws opened, and a plume of flame ignited the land were the dead lay scattered and untouched for a while now. It was a burial suited for any. Soon the white hot flame had engulfed the entirety of the field of battle, hungry and in search for more to consume. Taking the bodies willingly into the mouth of it's hunger as it spread beneath them.

Hermione's breath hitched at the sight, and the redhead could do nothing but hold her steady and quietly hope they found refuge with the rest of those who survived the attack. Quietly dread what lay ahead of them and what would be left of the village. If anything was left of the village that is. They sat in silence, not even Loci uttered a word to the redhead. His strong wings just carried them easily towards what would have been their sanctuary.

As they got closer they could easily see the destruction. Buildings torn down and set ablaze in the carnage and struggle. Bodies had been dragged from the confines of the homes, those who obviously were too stupid to leave, to stubborn to abandon ship, or simply to weak to make it anywhere so decided to stay. They settled in a hover over the centre of the town, and the redhead's eyes scanned the area for any signs of life. There were still a few lose Cranorg happily eating their fill of human flesh. "I'm so sorry" Came a small timid voice in front of her, the noise barely heard over the sound of the wind swirling around them almost violently.

The smaller girl had managed to turn herself around carefully, and was now sat facing the redhead. Her expression a mixture of anguish and guilt. "I'm sorry" She spoke again, wrapping her arms tightly around the redhead's neck. Pulling the girl into a tight embrace. Ginny remained silent, allowing the near stranger to comfort her over the loss of her home. It shouldn't have come as a shock, everyone knew this day would come and it would be a massacre.

"We'll find the others, there is nothing left to salvage" She spoke her voice sounding more determined than she felt. "They would have set off into the forest. We need to scan the area and pick up on them before night completely takes the remaining light" Ginny explained, and the brunette nodded.

"We'll find them, your brother got away with my friends, and so did quite a few others. With luck they'll all have found each other" Hermione reasoned. Her logical mind taking over as she squashed her emotions down for the time being. If Ginny could be strong over the loss of her home and potentially family, she could be strong for the girl.

With that the older girl turned once again and righted her position on Loci's back. Ginny's arms never loosed from her waist, which put a small smile on the brunette's lips. Maybe the phoenix will rise from these ashes, metaphorically of course.

Loci's strong wings took them higher, and Ginny seemed to be scanning the area beneath them intently. She knew Luna and Raina had some kind of connection were they could see through each others eyes. Considering the Dragons vision was much better than the humans it would make sense that's what was happening now.

They soon flew over the beginnings of the forest, high above the canopy of trees. She couldn't see anything beneath the tops of the trees, and it was frustrating. Hermione had found herself sat helpless and unable to do much useful. Leaning back into the redhead she gave a small sigh and closed her eyes against the harsh wind for a moment.

"How long are we going to continue looking?" The brunette spoke quietly, aware Ginny would be able to hear her words clearly due to their close proximity.

"Until we find a place safe enough for us to hunker down for the rest of the night and start again at dawn" The redhead answered simply.

They spent most of the journey after that in silence. Loci had been flying back and forth and they were getting somewhat desperate. The tree's beneath them hadn't changed or thinned out and the only sign of life was a few deer here and there. But there was no sign of any of the survivors from the village.

The air was growing cooler as the time seemed to drag on and Hermione found herself shivering against the also quaking redhead. "Ginny we're going to freeze if we don't find somewhere to take refuge for the rest of the night" The brunette spoke calmly, almost wordlessly ordering the redhead to take them down.

"I know, I know" She spoke her reply through chattering teeth. They had made it almost all the way to the mountains. "I don't think they'd have made it this far yet, maybe we can stay here and intercept them in the morning" Ginny spoke again, as if she was reasoning with herself more than Hermione.

"I think that sounds like a good idea." The brunette nodded, pulling her cloak tighter around herself. "Can you see anywhere that may be safe for us to sleep?" She asked, peering down over the dragons large wings.

"I saw a cave not too far back it was on the river. Loci may be able to fit in with us, so that should be pretty safe. Nobody will know we're in there" Ginny sighed rubbing the back of her neck before silently letting Loci know they needed to go back towards the river and find the cave once again. He did as he was told, and gently banked to the left and began flying back the way they came.

"Good, because we need to get your leg cleaned up too or it'll get infected" The brunette shook her head. She had a sneaking suspicion the younger girl wasn't telling her exactly what happened. Every time she chanced a glance at the wound the redhead would cover it in some way.

"If we must" The taller girl spoke finally after what seemed a while of deliberation.

Well that was definitely a start, at least Hermione would be able to clean and wrap the wound. "I'm not too good at healing spells, But I do have some essence of dittany. It'll still have to be wrapped and cleaned first but it shouldn't be too bad" She chanced a small smile over her shoulder.

"Thank you" Ginny spoke quietly, stroking her thumbs up and down the brunette's sides.

Soon they had landed in a clearing not far away from the cave the redhead had spotted. They were on edge, and their breathing was shallow as they inspected the area. Hermione had her wand drawn a small light illuminating the tip of it as she held it outstretched in front of her. "It doesn't look like anyone's been here" she whispered, inching along the river behind the redhead who was examining everything.

"Stay here with Loci, and guard the entrance while I make sure the cave is clear" Ginny smiled a wide smile before turning to slide along the wall of the entrance to the cave. Her sword drawn and her keen eyes peeled for any sign of danger.

Hermione watched as she disappeared into the shadow that engulfed the inside of the cave. It wasn't that late, but darkness had descended on them earlier. The days had been growing shorter with the approach of winter well on its way. If the brunette were to have a guess, she'd say the latest it was would be nine in the evening. But even so, with minimum light to warn them of anything that could be lurking just out of sight she had to rely on her other senses. Her ears strained against the silence, listening for anything that might give away an intruder. Loci seemed equally as concentrated on the silence, though his eyes were bright and flicking back and forth through their surrounding areas. They had a good idea of what was in these woods having flown over them a few times now. They had spotted nothing but a few loose Cranorg too stupid to realize there had been a dragon flying above.

Ginny finally wandered lazily back out of the cave, her stride slightly weakened by a limp. "It's fine, and it's big enough for you too Loci" She smiled happily her cheeks slightly red and chapped from flying. "We can find something to eat in the morning, I'm sure there are trout in this river" She nodded towards the water.

"That sounds good" Hermione smiled a small smile. "We'll have to sue our cloaks for bedding, I can transfigure them so they're larger and it wont be hard to start a small fire" The brunette spoke, assessing what they needed to do before finally settling down.

She looked up at the redhead who was stood examining the river now. Crouched down with her cloak pulled tight to her. "It looks clean enough to drink, it must come down from the mountains" Her voice came, but it didn't sound like she was actually paying attention to what she was saying.

"Right, well if it's clean enough to drink, it'll be fine to clean up that leg wound of yours" Hermione spoke with determination. Walking over to the redhead she put a hand on her shoulder and pushed gently until the taller girl was in a seated position. Gently the brunette took hold of the injured leg and gave Ginny a small smile before pulling it out tenderly. "Right" She said more to herself than anyone else. Loci had moved closer to examine the scene, but not too much closer. Her eyes wandered to the shredded material on the side of the taller girls thigh as her fingers pulled it apart slowly to see the wound clearly beneath. Hermione gave a low sigh as she finally took in the extent of the damage. It seemed bad, perhaps that was just because of the shredded edges of the puncture wound. "How did you say this happened again?" She spoke but didn't take her eyes off of the damage.

"I uh… tripped?" Ginny said shyly, "And landed on a branch…" She added quietly, almost too quiet for Hermione to hear.

"Well why didn't you tell me that before?" The brunette scolded, lifting her eyes to the redheaded girl looking incredibly sheepish.

"Because we needed to get moving, not have you fuss over a wound that would be fine" Ginny tried to defend herself only causing Hermione to shake her head.

The brunette had since moved, taking her small knife she sliced more of the redheads trouser leg open before slicing a few pieces of her own cloak off of the bottom. Moving from the taller girls side she dipped one of the pieces into the river before ringing it out and moving back.

"Right, this may sting a little" She said soothingly before dabbing the damp cloth onto the wound causing Ginny to take a sharp intake of breath and wince a little. It took a little while of dabbing and wiping for the wound and the area around it to be free from blood and dirt. But the redhead stayed put, only wincing and shying away if it was a particularly tender area.

With a satisfied sigh Hermione dropped the now dirty piece of cloth beside her. Reaching around her neck she pulled a small pouch from its hiding place under her shirt. Opening the pouch carefully she extracted a small bottle of clear liquid. Looking up at the redhead finally, she sighed. "This is going to hurt, but it will make sure you're back in fighting shape as soon as possible and by morning the wound should be completely closed" She explained as she began to pull the stopper from the top of the bottle.

"I'm a big girl Hermione, I'm sure it can't be that bad" Ginny scoffed, shaking her head.

"Okay, well don't say I didn't warn you" The brunette sighed again before filling the pipette attached to the stopper with the clear liquid and began dripping it into the wound. As soon as the first drop hit flesh Ginny shrieked out in pain.

"Bloody mother of Goblins" She whimpered, but Hermione didn't stop merely offered shushes of comfort and a hand to the redheads knee to keep the leg as still as possible. She continued until there was nothing left in the small pipette. By which time the redhead had completely paled and was all but writhing in pain doing everything possible to get away from the smaller girl. When Hermione finally loosed her leg she curled up, tucking the offending limb as close to her chest as she could get it.

"Bloody hell, bloody mother of goblins, what the hell was that?!" Ginny growled out in anger and pain.

"I told you, now come back and let me wrap it up so we can get to bed" Hermione ordered, trying to pry the redhead from herself. After a few moments Ginny seemed to relax a little, and allowed the brunette to wrap the remaining strip of cloth around the wound and fasten it tightly. After a few more moments and with a little encouragement from the smaller girl she was on her feet and limping towards the cave.

Once inside, the older girl lowered the redhead onto the floor of the cave, happy to see it was dry as a bone and not damp and cool like most caves. "Can I please have your cloak?" She asked nicely while pulling the redheads offending item off of the girl's shoulders. With a wave of her wand, it was expanded to double its size. With another wave of her wand Ginny's clothing was free of the blood and grime it had been caked in. Another wave, hers was the same, and he cloak had expanded to the size of Ginny's.

Loci's breathing was quiet as he looked onto the scene, he was lay by the entrance of the cave, keeping it blocked in case anyone tried to get into the small dwelling.

Hermione smiled a small smile, and helped the redhead into the make shift bed. "It'll feel better in the morning I promise" She spoke quietly, pushing a stray strand of red hair behind the younger girl's ear. Her cheeks had lost their entire color, and she looked as if she would be sick any moment. Debating whether or not a fire was needed she sighed, it was warm enough in there without it. With that thought, she moved to tuck herself in next to the already sleeping redhead. The girl was obviously drained, emotionally and physically even if she didn't show it. The day had been long and gruesome. It was time for a much needed rest.


	5. Chapter 5

A/n: Thanks for the reviews guys! Bodsquad you remain awesome. :)

Hope this doesn't disappoint.

Chapter 5

The early morning sun came streaming through the mouth of the cave. Loci was still guarding the opening with his lightly sleeping form. Hermiones dark eyes opened slowly, the light invading her vision immediately. It took a moment for her to adjust to her surroundings before she could take them in properly. She turned to her side, and her eyes met light hazel orbs staring back causing her breath to hitch in her throat. "Morning" she whispered her voice thick with the remnants of sleep.

"Morning" Ginny smiled a wide smile. "I was going to go try and find something for breakfast but I didn't want you to wake up alone." The redhead explained. Her cheeks tinted a dark red as she realised she had just admitted to staying in their makeshift bed with the older girl. "I uh... It's kind of cold and I didn't want to take my cloak and have you be cold, or wake you so I stayed here..."

Hermione smiled a bright smile, and shook her head in understanding. Leaning over the smaller girl pressed a tender kiss to the redheads cheek. "Thank you, that was very kind" she spoke quietly. "How's your leg feeling this morning?" She asked as she moved to stretch out her tired limbs. It wasn't all that comfortable sleeping on the floor of a cave with nothing but a couple of cloaks to keep you warm.

"Its tight, it feels like it doesn't fit in its own skin, but its a lot better thanks to you" she flashed a toothy grin before standing up. Offering the brunette a hand she thought for a moment. "I don't know if we're going to find the others today, but we'll find them soon. I have a feeling I know were they were heading" she said with a smaller smile.

Hermione took the offered hand and was lifted from the floor with ease. She stood a little awkwardly in front of the redhead, there was an overwhelming urge to pull the girl into a tight embrace and make her know they would find them soon. With a sigh she did just that. Her hands fisted in the shoulders of the girls shirt, pulling her into her own body. Her arms snaking their way around the redheads neck. The taller girl went stiff for a moment, before she allowed herself to relax her own arms wrapping tightly around Hermiones waist. "It'll be okay Ginny, we'll find them, and your brothers and parents will be alright everyone will be there and we'll move on and find a new home" Hermione soothed, her fingers entwining into red satin, stroking gently along the taller girls hairline.

Ginny had relaxed completely, burying her nose in the crook of the smaller girls neck. She allowed her words to soothe, and let her know it would be okay. It was reassuring, and that was more than enough at the moment in time.

Soon their embrace came to an end, each of them blushing deep shades of red.

"I uh, I'm going to see if I can catch a fish or something to eat, the we can go" Ginny beamed, "can you start a fire so we have something to cook it on?" She quizzed over her shoulder as she wandered towards the cave entrance. Loci had since moved and was sunning himself on the bank of the river.

"Yes of course" Hermione spoke but her eyes never left the redhead. She watched as she left the cave, and sighed once the girl was out of ear shot. The brunette wasn't sure what she felt for the girl exactly, but she knew it was something and seemed to be growing with the more time she spent with her. The redhead was admirable, and brave. Yet she was quiet and cute at the same time. It was endearing in the oddest of ways.

Shortly after clearing her mind Hermione moved to pull her cloak on, and grab Ginny's to bring it with her. There would be no point in leaving it in the cave. As she excited the cave Hermione found the redhead stood in the middle of the river. Her trousers were rolled up and her hands were in the water between her feet. Her face a picture of concentration. It took everything Hermione had not to burst out laughing. Her bottom lip was sandwiched between her teeth as she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself enough to find firewood.

She had returned a while later with an armful of wood. Ginny seemingly hadn't moved from her spot, but there was one lone fish lay on the side of the river. Whatever happened while she had been gone seemed to work. "So tell me about this place you think everyone's headed?" Hermione asked, genuinely curious.

The redhead poked her tongue out, and went deadly still for a moment before she launched her hands out of the water. A wriggling fish trapped tightly between her fingers as she hoisted it onto the land and sunk her knife between it's eyes. With that a triumphant smirk tugged at the corners of her lips as she followed the fish from the water and stood on the grassy bank wiggling her toes.

"It's an old wives tale I think, but I know that's the direction they'll be headed. It's a valley trapped between two tall mountains. It's entrance lies behind a great waterfall and is completely undetected from the outside world. Safe from Cranorgs and the dark wizards that are still fighting to avenge their fallen lord. But it's far to the east. It will be perfect if it exists, but I don't think it does." The redhead smiled a wide smile, knowing they would seek sanctuary somewhere else if they can not find this place.

"I've heard of that too" Hermione spoke with a small smile. "I was doing a little light reading when I was younger before our village was over run before the war. There was a rather large book I had come across while helping one of the elders, and she gave it to me as a reward for helping. It had a lot of things in it, but it described long lost places of salvation away from those who sought evil" The brunette smiled a wide smile as she spoke. Working away to set the firewood alight and hovering the two fish above the flame enough to cook.

Ginny was engrossed in what the older girl said, her eyes fixed firmly to the brunettes lips. She was astonishing, and interesting. The redhead swore she could listen to this girl speak for hours. She would happily spend days on end with this girl, and learn everything she could about her.

She sighed as the crackle of the fire brought her back into reality. "What happened to that book?" She asked, her eyebrow raised as she began pulling thick woollen socks onto her feet.

"It was lost of course, when the Cranorg invaded we had to leave quickly, and I couldn't take it with me" Hermione sighed a heavy sigh. Rolling her wrist she flipped the fish over to cook the other side.

"Those are really rather thick socks" She laughed as she eyed the redheaded girls socks.

"It's because it gets cold up on Loci at night and Mum was worried I'd get sick or something so she made she I'd have extra thick socks" Ginny explained, her cheeks tinting pink.

"I see, well that's reasonable" the brunette smiled a small smile.

They sat quietly talking about the plans for the rest of the day. Deciding even if they found the group, the would need to collect deer hides and ensure there would be plenty of it to go around for when winter descended on them. They would have to keep going and keep moving. They wouldn't be able to stop for more than a few days or they would never settle anywhere safe before the winter took a complete grasp. Hopefully they had found a place to stay put for a while, that way a few of the riders could be sent out as scouts for the hidden land. There were whispers of the exact placement, rumours but nobody really knew. They would have to figure it all out once they found the rest of the group.

Extinguishing the fire once they had consumed both of the fish, each of the pair got ready for the flight. They were unsure of how long it would last, or if they would find the group that day. They wrapped themselves tightly with their cloaks and took to Loci's muscular back. It was almost a routine, almost. Hermione still didn't seem happy with the heights, but she seemed to get better with it the more she flew.

"Did you ever ride Raina with Luna?" Ginny quizzed, raising an eyebrow at the girl already perched on Loci's back.

"Raina isn't as strong as Loci is, she has trouble carrying two. She and Luna would go ahead and make sure there wasn't any trouble coming our way." The brunette explained with a wide smile. Seemingly satisfied Ginny nodded and jumped up behind her.

'This one is clever, she plans very well. If we are sent to look for the hidden lands we will take her with us' Loci's voice echo'd within the confines of the redheads skull.

She couldn't deny it, 'I wouldn't want to go without her and be that far away from her so soon' Ginny replied calmly.

'Do you realise you're falling, young one?' His wise voice came again.

'Faster than I first thought' she replied.

With that the conversation was finished and they took to the skies once more. Their search was far from over, and once they found the group a new search would begin.

They headed east, Loci's large wings taking them faster than any horse could travel. Hermione guessed they should come to were the group had made it within an hour or so. Ginny's keen eye scanning the land beneath them.

"Ginny?" Came Hermione's voice over the wind.

"Yes?" She replied not breaking her line of vision, still focused intently on the ground beneath.

"Why don't you use magic like you did the first night we met?" Hermione asked, leaning further back into the redhead in order to clearly hear the answer. She had been wondering for quite a while.

"Because I don't feel the need to, I will if I come against another human who doesn't need to be killed, but other than for combative purposes, I never really had a reason to learn other spells. I'm much better with my hands" She explained. "My mother always did the chores with her wand, and my brother and I always found comfort in our swords and dragons not our wands" She continued.

"I see, I could teach you, if you like" Hermione offered shyly, unsure if it would be welcome or not.

"I'd like that, thank you" came the redheads voice and a firm squeeze around the middle.

They were soaring over a large group of trees when another figure in the sky ahead came into view. "It's another dragon!" Hermione yelled, pointing up ahead towards the creature flying towards them.

Ginny's head snapped up, and Loci seemed to focus on the animal ahead trying to determine if it was a threat or not.

"Get your wand out Hermione, don't fire anything until I say, it might be a threat"

Ginny spoke calmly in the brunettes ear, and the girl did as she was told.

Ginny pulled her own from it's holster on the inside of her leg. Their hearts beating a mile a minute as they remained pressed up against each other. "If it's not a friendly, aim for the rider, if we die they die" Ginny whispered again.

The beast began getting closer as they flew nearer. It seemed like it was moving towards them too.

'Loci, do you know who it is?' Her voice sounded within her own mind, but she knew he heard her.

'I can see it is blue, other than that I know as much as you' He spoke.

It seemed like the next few moments passed in slow motion. But soon enough a blonde maine came into view, and Hermione was the first to let out a sigh of relief. "It's Luna and Raina" She said loud enough for Ginny to hear.

The redhead wasn't convinced and kept her wand out. Her eyes trained on the approaching beast.

'She's right young one' Loci spoke again, his voice clear in her head.

She sighed a heavy sigh and holstered her wand.

'What does she say?' Ginny spoke inwardly.

'To follow them, they'll take us to the others' Loci's voice boomed once again as he began flying after the pair.

"We're following them, they know were the others are." The redhead explained to Hermione.

"I figured as much" The brunette laughed cheerfully. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

It didn't take them long to come to a large mountainside. It looked like it joined the ridge of the mountain they had found a cave within. They had gotten a little further than the pair had thought they would, but that was probably because most were on horse back. As they drew nearer they found there was a rather large hole in the rock face.

'Great another cave', the redhead thought sarcastically.

'If you think about it, for now it's the safest place to be, only one entrance to guard and it's shielded from the elements' Loci's voice boomed again.

He was right she supposed.

"Look! It's Harry and Neville!" Hermione practically bounced, itching to get off the dragon and run to her friends.

Ginny smiled a happy smile "they look like they've completely recovered" she was grateful for that. If they'd have had to be left behind, she didn't know how Hermione would have reacted.

They touched down moments later and Hermione was off like a shot. The four had all melded together in what looked like a group hug.

A redheaded man made his way out of the caves opening and into the light followed by an older redheaded woman. "Oh Ginny dear! We were so worried!" spoke as she walked over to pull her only daughter into a fierce embrace. Muttering words of worry.

Mr. Weasley clapped her on the back and smiled a wide smile. "Glad to see you're okay kiddo" he said almost awkwardly.

"All thanks to Hermione there" Ginny nodded back at the brunette.

"Did everyone get here okay? Were's George and Percy? Bill and Fleur? Charlie? Ron?" She asked with a wide smile.

"Bill, Fleur, George and Percy are out hunting, and Charlie and Ron are scouting the area around making sure we'll be safe for the night"

explained.

"Bit peaky dear? We'll be settling down to start cooking dinner as soon as they all get back" spoke, pinching her daughters cheek.

"You ripped your trousers! I'll have to fix those right away" The older woman tutted under her breath.

"It's fine mum" the younger redhead complained and batted her mother away. "I'll go see if I can help the others" she spoke, and Mrs Weasley nodded seemingly content with the answer.

Ginny wandered over to the group of friends, who seemed to be catching up on what had been going on around the new camp. Discussing spells being used on the entrance of the cave, and how they hallowed out the inside.

Ginny stood awkwardly and cleared her throat, "Glad to see you guys are alright" she nodded towards the two boys, four pairs of eyes now on her. "uh, anything I can do to help?" She asked shyly, suddenly finding her shoes incredibly interesting.

Hermione beamed a wide grin, her eyes as bright as her smile. "Ginny this is Harry and Neville, Boys this is Ginny she saved our lives" The brunette nodded happily, wrapping her fingers around the redheads hand.

"Nice to finally meet you" Came the voice of the green eyed boy mixed with an enthusiastic

"Great! Thanks" from the taller of the pair.

She just smiled and gave a shy "it was nothing really"

Hermione smiled a wide smile up at the redhead.

"Maybe you two should go check out the inside of the cave, we made it a lot bigger than it seems, and there are protective enchantments around the front of it. There's enough room for the four dragons, we made sure, so nobody should know we're here" Luna's dreamy voice came as the girl explained vaguely the inside of the cave. Her smile was wide and lopsided as she spoke.

"I think that's a good idea, maybe we can have a rest until dinner" Hermione said happily, though she knew the redheads leg would have to be causing her some pain. It wouldn't be completely healed yet, and needed to be rested.

"You need to get off that leg of yours" she spoke seriously, "I'll ask you Mum to have a look at it, to make sure I didn't miss anything" The brunette nodded, to herself more than anyone else as if to confirm her statement. She began leading the taller girl away, who was still limping slightly. Though it wasn't enough for anyone to notice if they hadn't known she was wounded.

When they entered the cave they were met with a surprisingly light, very large cavern. There were small beds of different sizes scattered around the outside walls. They looked like hide layered with a few blankets. It wouldn't be the most comfortable thing, but it was good for a days work. It would obviously improve over time. Ginny sighed, moving to one of the unused beds with a large gap next to it, big enough for a dragon, and assumed it was hers. She knelt down onto it before flopping onto her back. Pulling her cloak off she bunched it up and used it to prop her knee up with a groan.

The brunette knelt down next to the younger girl, and gently began untying the make shift bandage. Examining the now closed wound carefully once it was visible.

"You stay here, it looks like it's doing well, we closed it before there was any chance of infection but it was quite deep. I want to see what your mum thinks" Hermione explained, receiving only a sleepy nod in return.

The redhead hadn't slept well the night before. She'd fallen asleep quickly only to wake a few hours later. Nervously listening for anything that may come to harm the brunette that had been soundly sleeping next to her.

As she heard footsteps on the cave floor, her eyes closed once again. Hermione would be back soon, and that in itself gave the most satisfying comfort anyone could imagine.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: First off I'd like to say thank you for the reviews. Their always brilliant.

Secondly, I have no idea why 's name gets cut from my stories. When I go back to check they're there. I'll look into it a little more. Sorry!

Also, this is un-beta'd so all the mistakes are my own.

I'm obviously not Jk Rowling, therefore own only the original characters within this story.

Chapter Six

It must have been a few hours later when the youngest redhead awoke once again. A waft of something cooking hit her nose and gently pulled her from her coma-like sleep. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to take in her surroundings and try and find what was emanating the smell without moving. Her body felt too heavy to move, she was wrapped up in something and was completely warm and comfortable. Loci's breathing next to her filtered into her ears and she focused on the noises around her for a moment or so.

A large yawn took her features for a second or two before she finally felt awake enough to move. With a huff she untangled herself from the thick material that hadn't been there when she fell asleep. Come to think of it, she couldn't remember falling asleep. Her leg felt sore and stiff as she wiggled it around trying to gain some normal feeling in the limb. A shuffling noise came from the other side of the cave. Her body moved slightly so she could turn to were the noise emanated from. She was beaten to the punch when a familiar voice came "Hey, you're awake" Hermione spoke, her voice had an air of cheer to it.

"Yeah, just about" Ginny grumbled rolling onto her back to look up at the brunette. "How are you feeling?" The redhead asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm sure I should be asking you that" Hermione laughed, shaking her head. She had knelt down beside the younger girl, and was pulling the sheet wrapped around her leg gently. "But I'm fine thank you" She said with a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth as she focused on examining the wound.

"How's your leg feeling? Your Mother fixed your trousers, and they're hanging to dry by the fire" Hermione sighed when her eyes fell on the bruised area. Molly had said it would take a while for it to heal completely, but it was the smartest thing to do to close it up and protect it from infection.

It was at this point Ginny realised she hadn't got any trousers on and blushed profusely. "I, uh it's feeling stronger than it did when I fell asleep" The redhead explained as she looked down at her now black and blue leg.

"We left the bandages off, we don't think you need them anymore, you're Mother put an odd potion on it, something to help the tissue inside grow back together and such" Hermione smiled handing over a spare pair of trousers to the younger girl. "But get dressed, your Mother says dinners ready" And with that the brunette stood and wandered off out of the cave once again. Leaving Ginny in a state of awe and confusion. She had been given a lot of information in one go and wasn't quite awake to take it all in.

With a sigh she pulled on the trousers she had been given, and came to realise they must have belonged to one of the boys as they all but drowned her. The legs had to be rolled up so she didn't trip over them, and she had to constantly hold onto the waistband or they'd have dropped to the floor. Her shirt was just the same, a hand me down, but she didn't mind that. It was baggy and comfortable the sleeves too long and covered her hands. It had kept her warm during many night-time flights. It was thick and made of the same wool her socks had been made of. The collar was loose because she kept the only three buttons the shirt adorned unbuttoned. Her long red hair flowed down over her shoulders, free from its normal braid. With a sigh she finally made her way out of the cave. She was met with the entire group sat around what looked like a deer being spit roast over a roaring flame. Everyone looked happy, waiting patiently for the hearty meal that was sure to come. Hermione was fussing with Molly over what looked like a make shift pot of something steaming. The sight caused Ginny to smile to herself and shake her head happily.

"Look who finally decided to join the party!" George laughed and wrapped an arm around her wrist to pull her between him and Ron. Both boys looked at her fondly eyeing her over. "Maybe we can have Mum pin those for you?" Ron suggested, nudging her. "But I would like them back at some point" he prodded her side and smiled a wide lopsided smile.

"No wonder they're so big, I thought they were dads!" Ginny chortled, her cheeks tinting a light red.

"Nope, they're Ol' Ronniekins' he was the only one who had a spare pair to give you for a while. Mums working on making some more, her and Fleur are hanging out some of the hide we collected today to dry" Bill joined the conversation happily, his eyes sparkled brightly reflecting the flame.

"Thanks Ron" Ginny smiled and gave her brother a sideways hug. She was the baby, and always would be.

Luna caught her attention from the other side of the fire, her wide eyes seemed to be boring into the redhead. The taller of the two boys had sat close to her, his arm almost draped around her shoulder. Ginny raised an eyebrow in question, were they together? Did that mean Hermione was with Harry? She hoped not.

Her thought process was broken by her mother shuffling over. The make shift pot levitating not far in front of her. A spoon still stirring what she assumed to be steaming liquid. A contented smile pulled at her lips, her entire brude was around plus some. She was in her element, and Hermione seemed more than happy to help.

With a flick of her wand, bowls appeared in front of everyone. The make shift pot began it's rounds, the ladle acting on its own to serve up what looked like soup onto each of the bowls. Her father had stood and with the help of Charlie had begun slicing strips off of the cooked deer.

Hermione took her place next to Harry and Ginny had to remind herself of what Luna had so bluntly revealed not two days back. "She doesn't like boys" Ginny chanted inwardly.

A scoff emanated within the confines of her skull and she looked over towards were Loci was now laying. Having obviously made his way to join the group.

"Right" Her father spoke, breaking the silence the group had fallen into.

"When morning comes we need two of you riders to start the search for the hidden land. Who's going to volunteer?" He asked, rubbing his hands together.

"I'll go" Luna's voice floated over the crackle of the fire, and everyone turned to look at her oddly. She hadn't been part of the group for long, and it was a relative shock. "Raina and I will be happy to help and I'm sure Harry and Neville will be willing to accompany us"

"I'll stay here and help start some kind of garden" Neville spoke quietly and shyly.

It made sense, they didn't know how long they would be in this place, and they would need to keep themselves going somehow.

"I'll be happy to go with Luna" Harry smiled a wide smile, pushing his glasses closer to his face.

"I'll go" Ginny spoke, she had the best idea of were she was heading. Her brothers were good riders, but they hadn't got as good of a sense of direction. She had a feeling Luna had heard of this place before and would have a good idea of what to look for.

"Right well that's settled then" Mr. Weasley spoke with a smile.

"I'll go with Ginny" A quiet voice came. Hermione was staring directly at the youngest redhead. A determination burned behind her iris as she looked on. "We make a good team, and it's safer if two of us go" The brunette explained her logic.

"That's a good idea dear, I'll start on packs for everybody once we've finished dinner" Molly was practically rubbing her hands together. Hermione had a feeling she would pack everything they may need and more.

"How long are we to search for before we come back?" Luna quizzed.

"However long you can manage, when you haven't got enough supplies to last you, come back and one of the others will take off were you left off" Mr. Weasley spoke.

"We need at least two riders to stay with us, and make sure we aren't surprised by any cranorgs or worse" Bill commented. It was easier to scout ahead in the sky, and it really did help while hunting.

Charlie smiled a wide smile, he wasn't one to happily leave his parents. They weren't spring chickens anymore.

Ginny had lost herself in thought once again. Her hands wrapped around the still steaming bowl of soup. She had added the deer meet to it rather than eating them separate. It had given the liquid a little more substance.

Dinner had passed without much more talk of the morning to come. She was grateful Hermione had offered to come and keep her company. It would have been a lonely task otherwise. She knew they would be better off the two of them, with Hermione's magic and her combative skills they would be able to go for a long while.

Hermione and Mrs. Weasley were once again off, they had begun packing everything the two pairs may need. Spare clothing, bedding, medical supplies, some of the left over deer and a hide or two in case it was needed. They would have to do a lot of improvising whilst on their journey, but it would be alright.

Two packs per dragon were soon complete. Her mother had continued fussing until the sun had completely vanished below the horizon. Immursing them into a darkness with only artificial light to guide their way back into the confines of the cave.

Hermione approached the youngest redhead with a shy smile. They hadn't had chance to speak one on one after the conversation at dinner. Everyone had sprung into action in the last light of the day, readying everything necessary for the four to head out at the break of dawn.

"You don't mind me coming with you, do you?" The brunette questioned, suddenly finding her shoes very interesting.

"I'm glad you offered actually" the redhead smiled a wide smile, leaning in to pull the smaller girl into a fierce hug. "I'd have been rather lonely on my own, and I'd like to spend more time with you" she grinned a lopsided grin at the older witch as she pulled away. Her hand finding the back of her neck to rub awkwardly at her hairline.

Hermione looked stunned for a moment, but soon a bright smile that rivalled Ginny's threatened to split her face. "Me too, we'll find it Gin, and if we don't Luna will. She has a very good idea of were it is, and I'm not sure we'll be searching all too long. But if we are, we'll be fine" The brunette spoke, her voice bounced with enthusiasm.

"I'm sure you're right" Ginny laughed, shaking her head as she did. "But for now we need our rest" she motioned to her make shift bed Loci was already spread out next to. Everyone else was dotted around, getting into their own beds.

"Yes! Yes of course, you get to bed and I'll see you bright and early" Hermione smiled, leaning up to place a kiss on the taller girls cheek.

With wide eyes, the younger girl watched Hermione get into the bed that had been situated a small ways away from her own. A dark blush tinted her pale cheeks. If it wasn't for the dim lighting, she was sure she'd have been caught out.

With a contented sigh, and the prospect of an early morning Ginny slipped out of her loaned trousers. Folding them up she placed them on the side and slid into her own bed. It wasn't long until sleep took her. She was still exhausted from the battle and the search for her family.

Morning came after what felt like seconds of the redhead falling asleep. She hadn't awoken once in the night, and she'd slept a long time. Oddly feeling refreshed she climbed from her sleeping position, and pulled her trousers up her long legs. Rolling them once again, she clutched the waistband and made her way out of the semi-empty cave. Her eyes had wandered to find Hermiones bed empty, along with her Mother and Father's, Luna's, and Harry's. Loci too had seemed to have made his way from the cave. Looks like she was the last one to wake out of the small troop that would be leaving.

was fussing over the packs once again. Hermione, Luna and Harry were huddled around what looked like a map. Probably planning their journeys and rest points. It didn't surprise Ginny really. She was starting to learn Hermione was a very organised person.

With a sigh she moved over to her mother. "Mum, are my trousers dry, these are a pain and I won't be able to leave in them." In truth she had missed her own trousers. They were made of thick cow hide, and were warm and provided a good amount of protection. They hugged her body and gave way as she moved.

"Yes dear, they're hanging just next to the fire" Molly spoke but never looked away from her work.

"Thanks Mum" the redhead smiled before leaning in to press a kiss to her mothers cheek.

Her long strides took her right to were her trousers were hung, and soon she had shimmied out of Ron's and back into her own. They felt nice and fresh. She stretched out before moving to the small group. Hearing their muttered plans.

"Are we almost ready to set off? I think Mums almost finished with the packs" She spoke loudly, crouching down next to Hermione.

"I think we are, I've planned our route, and we'll be heading North east, so I asked your Mum to pack a few more layers for us as we'll have to deal with snow" Hermione began explaining the plan she had concocted. "Luna and Harry will head South East, so they'll have a while yet before they get the winter snow" The brunette smiled a sheepish smile up at the redhead. "She also fixed my cloak for me, your mother is a genius when it comes to domestic magic it appears"

At that Ginny laughed out loud, "yes, yes she is" She managed through pants as she tried to catch her breath once again.

"Alright there dear?" Came Molly's voice as she neared the group holding the four packs out to the two pairs.

"I'm fine mum" Ginny smiled, taking the two packs her mother had handed to her. "I'll just go get these set on Loci and then fetch my swords and we'll be good to go" the younger redhead beamed. She was nervously excited, and it was an odd feeling.

She moved towards her waiting dragon, "Are you ready for this?" She asked internally, her hazel eyes catching the larger pair as he lifted his large head to look at her.

"I'm ready, are you ready? I'm sure you can stick around another day if your leg isn't well enough" Loci's deep voice rang inside the walls of her skull. She reached out and placed a hand on the top of his head with a smile.

"I'm ready, don't worry about me" She said confidently, moving round to strap the packs onto his back gently. Securing them so they wouldn't fall off. That would be the last thing they needed.

"I'll just go and get my swords and Hermione and then we'll be off" she thought, and wandered off towards the cave entrance once again. She made her way quietly towards her bed and pulled her cloak over her shoulders, followed by her swords. It didn't take long, and soon she was back out in the early morning sun. Luna and Harry had mounted Raina, and were waiting for her and Hermione to ready themselves with Loci.

With one last hug from her mother she pushed the brunette up onto the red dragons back and quickly followed suit. With a nod towards the blonde they were off. Loci carried them high into the sky with only a few strong flaps of his wings. The redheads strong arms found their way around Hermiones waist. The small camp had disappeared into the distance, and their journey had begun.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N; So, I'm thinking this story will earn it's M rating next chapter. What did everyone think of this one? I'd love to know. Any suggestions are more than welcome and will be taken on board. Any questions? Go for it.

Also, if anyone is willing to beta any of my stories that would be great. So if you're interested Pm me. I have just started writing a new one; called "Calm before the storm" It's a Hermione/Oc fic. (Go read it!) Enjoy!

Chapter 7

That day they had made it a good distance away from the camp the rest of the Weasley's and Neville had stayed behind at. After a few hours of flying, they had split away from Luna and Harry to head further north. They both had a vague idea of where they were heading. They would get more ground covered if they had split up. Most of the flight was done in silence. That was until Ginny's stomach began to growl uncontrollably.

The redhead leant forward to speak into the brunette's ear. "I'm getting really rather hungry, how about we look for a place to camp over night and settle in?" She asked her voice just loud enough for the girl pressed tightly to her front to hear her.

"I think that's a good idea, do you have an idea of where we can camp? With protective enchantments we can stop pretty much anywhere" Hermione spoke over the wind, pressing her back into the taller girl, enjoying the feel of her solid body in contrast to the wavering feeling of flying. Hermione didn't like flying, but she found if the redhead was behind her, and provided some kind of solid stability she found herself grounded.

"I have no idea no, I was just going to wing it really, or stop where you thought was best" She admitted with a shrug. Her arms gripping the brunette tighter. She was anxious about finally spending time really alone with the older witch. They hadn't had the chance until now. They weren't in a rush to be anywhere or find anything. They knew those back at the camp were safe. She was well aware of the attraction she had building for the girl, and was quite aware of the older witches own attraction. It wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if something happened. It just wouldn't be brilliant either.

Hermione pointed to a spot not far off. They were flying over a massive hilly area. The place she had pointed to was what looked like a massive rock ledge that provided some sort of flat ground to camp on. A river streamed through the hills valley. "That looks good, water near by and it'll be hard to get to for anyone else, we can ward the area and make sure we're alerted if someone gets too close, and we'll enchant the perimeter of where we'll be sleeping" The brunette explained.

"Alright Loci you heard the lady, that's the plan" She spoke with a laugh.

The dragon made a gentle veer off towards the direction they were headed, and eventually landed gently on the rock ledge that they were to sleep on. As he touched down, they waited until he had settled himself to get off his scaly back. First Ginny slid off and landed with a soft thud. Once she was stable she reached her arms up and Hermione gently lowered herself into them. Gently Ginny set her down and smiled brightly. "Welcome home" the redhead joked her cheeks tinted a light red.

"Glad to be here" Hermione smiled back, her hands fisting into the shoulders of Ginny's shirt. Their gaze connecting for what seemed like forever. Without hesitation the brunette leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on Ginny's lips. Pulling back she beamed brightly up at the stunned girl. "I'm going to start on the wards, why don't you work on finding something to eat and starting a fire"

"Right, yes, that's what I'll do" The redhead almost stammered out. Watching as the older girl walked away towards the highest point she could reach. Inwardly she spoke "Loci, keep an eye on her please, I don't need her being attacked or something" Ginny asked.

"Already a step ahead of you Red" Loci's voice boomed inside the walls of her skull.

"Thought you would be, I'll be back shortly" She stated happily, before wandering off down the steep incline in search of something edible. Lucky for them, she was a skilled hunter and picked up on what looked like some fresh rabbit tracks at the bottom of the valley. Pulling her wand from it's own sheath on the inside of her thigh she sat and waited by what was obviously a small rabbit burrow. Her mind had wandered to the events that had occurred just before she had left Hermione's side. She wasn't quite sure what to make of them, but it had to be a good thing. Maybe Hermione had felt her anxiety over being properly alone and decided to let her know in the only way she knew how that it was okay. It certainly seemed okay. She couldn't deny the excitement that had surged through every cell when it had happened. It was like her body was on fire and she wanted more. Part of her couldn't wait to settle down for the night, but another part of her was even more anxious. What if the brunette wasn't expecting more than just that kiss? Or a couple of kisses at that? She supposed she'd have to wait and see what happens.

The sun had begun setting over the tips of the hills they found themselves in the middle of. She was loosing light quickly. She had already waited for what must have been an hour or two. Suddenly a crack further up drew her attention, and two of the fur balls came bounding past. As quietly as she could, she shot two spells their way and they both froze and dropped to the ground. Wandering to them as quickly as she could and lifted them one at a time, snapping their necks as quickly as possible. Knowing they'd have not felt anything due to the spell she had hit them with. They'd have never known. It was barbaric, but she did it in the most humane way she could.

With a sigh she grabbed the pair by their feet and carried them off up the hill back towards their small camp. Once she was within the perimeter, Hermione waved her wand a few times, and the outside world seemed to go dull. "What did you just do?" Ginny asked, raising a brow in question.

"I used a disillusionment spell on the area I'd already set protection around. Nobody will be able to see us or hear us now" She smiled a shy smile. While Ginny was gone she had been thinking hard about the kiss. It was only small, but she'd hoped she put all of what she felt she needed to into it. That it was okay, and she knew what Ginny wanted. They had both felt the immediate attraction, and it had done nothing but grow between them over the few days they had spent together. She really didn't know what she expected to happen over the next few weeks. But she hoped it was something big.

Ginny nodded, she understood in a way but she was sure she would leave that type of magic to the brunette. "I see." She smiled a wide smile, holding up the two rabbits. "I got dinner, and if we let the hide dry out I'm sure we can make a pair of gloves. We'll need them, it's already freezing" Ginny laughed. The further north they had gotten, the more the temperature drop had become obvious.

"I agree, It was a pretty cold fly. I was going to make you wear the extra shirt your mother packed for you in the morning, and I would wear mine. If one of us gets Ill we'll have no choice but to turn back" The brunette said grimly. The cold would be the hardest thing they would have to overcome.

"Sounds like a plan to me, I'll skin these up and gut them if you get a pot of water and potato's going? Then while that's cooking we can get a tent set up or something, we can't sleep on the floor like this, and if it decides to snow or rain in the night we won't be very comfy." Ginny spoke quietly, sitting down dangling her legs over the edge of the stone slab they had set up on.

She started her work of skinning and gutting the small creatures. With her wand she would discard the unwanted remnence of the animals. Sure there would be some other animal scrounging around for the leftovers. To her side she could hear the brunette working away. She smiled at the girl, who returned the gesture warmly.

"I have a feeling we're going to have to stay a few places for a couple of days. Especially if it's snowing" Hermione's voice came. "We have to get more hides to make more warm clothing out of. We have enough for bedding to keep us warm at night, but I'm unsure of how we'll do flying in those temperatures." She thought aloud.

Ginny couldn't help but agree with her. She was worried about how well they would fare in the type of weather. "Maybe we should go find a village and see if we can buy some more potato's and breads, It'll be hard living on just meat" Ginny sighed a deep sigh.

"I haven't got any money, and I doubt you do either" Hermione stated simply. "we'll just have to find a way to make do without, use less during each meal, and collect as much as we can before we go into the snowy area's" The brunette reasoned. "We'll be okay" She smiled a warm smile.

Ginny stood from where she was sitting, dropping handfuls of the meat into the pot that was now hovering over the fire Hermione must have made. "I suppose, I'm just worried, we don't need to be getting ill" She sighed.

Loci looked over before his voice rang within her head "I'm going to see if I can hunt a while, catch something to eat for myself" He spoke. With a nod from the redhead he launched himself from the platform and disappeared behind the protective barriers.

"Where did he go?" Hermione quizzed an eyebrow raised.

"He went to hunt, he'll not go far and he can keep an eye out from above in case" Ginny stated. "How are we going to make a tent out of pretty much nothing?" She asked, staring at the place the tent would go.

"I have one in my pack, We used to sleep in them while on the run" Hermione looked sheepish. "Luna took Harry and Neville's. I knew we would need one."

"Its like you've already thought of everything" The redhead laughed while Hermione pulled out a small bundle. With a flick of the brunette's wrist the tent had erected itself and stood sturdy against the slope of the hill.

"You have to think of everything if you want to stay alive" The older girl answered simply, going to give the make shift soup a stir. "Can you set the bedding and the hides in the tent? So we can just get in it after eating please?" She asked kindly, looking over her shoulder at the redhead.

"That sounds like a good idea, Riding Loci isn't as comfortable when you're doing it all day" Ginny laughed as she pulled the bedding from one of the packs. They were lucky her mother packed a lot of it. She cast a simple "finite incantatem" over the material, and it returned to its original size. Allowing it her to set it out neatly against the floor of the tent. They would have enough under them and over them to keep them warm.

She wandered out of the small home just big enough for the two of them, and towards Hermione who was ladling the liquid out into two bowls. She sat beside the smaller girl and leaned over to press a kiss on the brunette's cheek. "We can always cuddle for warmth" she hinted with a smirk.

"Maybe…" Hermione laughed, turning her head just in time to catch Ginny's lips and in turn the redhead by surprise once again. They kissed for a few moments before pulling away to breathe once again. "I don't think it'll be too bad, and if cuddling doesn't work, I'm sure we can figure out something else to keep us warm" She whispered huskily.

Ginny's jaw hit the floor as she spluttered and tried to find the air to fill her lungs enough to speak. "Yes! Yes! I mean…" she cleared her throat "That sounds good to me, yes" she smirked. Looking away to try and hide her blush that was now covering her neck and ears. "or we could just do that anyway, a good way to cure the boredom I'm sure we'll endure…" She said cheekily. Grinning a lopsided grin.

"If you're lucky" Hermione laughed, and pulled two pieces of flat bread from her pack. Handing one to the redhead along with a bowl she smiled. "Eat, you'll need to keep up your strength" She smiled a warm smile, shuffling closer to the redhead.

They sat like that for a while, enjoying the warmth that radiated from the fire. Once they were finished, Hermione flicked her wand a few times and cleaned everything up. Shrinking the fire to the dim glow of the embers she shivered, as the cold began attacking her bones.

"To bed we go" she smirked, pulling the redhead towards the tent.

Ginny's jaw was once again on the floor, and all she could do was nod in acceptance.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: short one! But Smut warning in this one guys.

Chapter 8

Ginny had closed the door to the tent and zipped it up. Turning around quickly she caught the brunette off guard and eagerly pressed their lips together in a hungry kiss. The redheads hands pushing the older girl's cloak off, leaving it to be disgarded in the beginings of a messy pile off to the side. Hermione was startled at first, but soon caught up, tugging the redheads own heavy cloak off and pushing it to join hers. Her fingers finding the hem of Ginny's oversized shirt and pushed it over the girls head. Their lips met again, a passion surged through the pair like an electricity that neither new existed. pushed her to the cushioning. The kiss was broken briefly as Ginny managed to pull Hermione's own shirt from her back and was forgotten as their lips met again. Skilled hands traced up and down the redheads back, nimble fingers unhooking the basic clasp of the redheads bra. Slipping it carefully down toned arms.

Soon the older witch was gently pushing the redhead down and her back hit the small amount of cushioning on the floor of the tent. Her own hands going to pull Hermione's bra off just as eagerly. Hands roamed bodies, and bodies undulated in time with the other. Trying to get the most amount of friction in the places they needed it most.

Hermione's lips broke from the younger girls to trace down her neck. Nibbling and licking the tender skin there causing the redhead to gasp in pleasure a few times. Her tongue ran over the swell of Ginny's breasts and down the valley between them. Her mouth trailed across and captured one of the redheads pert bundles of nerves between her lips. Sucking and licking gently.

A deep groan left the redheads throat her body arching into the brunettes touch. Her hands trailing down the older girls back, and finally stopped to groap at Hermione's full bum. Squeezeing and massaging a few times as she did. When Hermione swapped to the other bundle of nerves, Ginny's hand wandered around. Her fingers working to unclasp the brunettes trousers. Eager to feel the girl for the first time.

Once the clasp was open, Hermiones trousers were pushed far enough down her hips for Ginny to get her hand into the best place. Sliding it into the older girls pants. Her fingers seaking out her most intimate place. Finally she found the slick wetness and pushed her middle finger through the collection of liquid.

Hermione gave a gutteral moan, lifting her head up to capture the redheads lips. Her own hands working their ways down to pull Ginny's trousers off and throw them to the side, her own following.

It was quick, and needy. But she got them undressed. As she lay back down her eyes caught those that were normally light hazel turned into a deep charcoal colour. Glazed over with lust. Ginny gave her a warm smile, and pulled her close. Their lips met in a slow and tender kiss. All the urgancy vanished with that connection of their eyes. The redhead's hands slipped lower, and soon she was sliding her fingers through the brunettes moist folds. Her fingers searching for the bundle of nerves she needed to find.

When the brunette gave a sharp gasp followed by a throaty groan and bucked into her hand she figured she found it and began rubbing in slow circles. Hermione's eyes rolled back and she tried her hardest to focus on what she was doing. Her own fingers trailing the redheads body, stopping to trace scars that were scattered here and there. Her moans were becoming louder and more frequent. But her lips kept moving with the younger girls.

Her fingers met the redheads pelvic bone and she slipped them lower still. Finding Ginny's own wetness waiting for her. It didn't take her long until she had found the redheads bundle, and was rubbing it vigourously trying to get the younger girl to catch up.

Their bodies rocked in time with each others. Their lips crashed in clumbsy kisses, heated and passionate. Happy to swallow the others moans.

Soon it came crashing down around them in waves of euphoria. Their bodies going rigid as they each road out their orgasms. Falling limp within the others grasp.

Chests heaved and fell as both girls panted heavily to try and regain their breaths.

Ginny was smiling a bright smile that almost split her face as she uttered "I knew you liked me" She laughed, pulling the brunette closer. Wrapping her arms around the older girl tightly.

"You like me too" The brunette stated, tracing small kisses across the redheads jaw.

"A lot" Ginny admitted.

"We'll have to do this again sometime" Hermione smiled a shy smile.

"Definitely" the younger girl nodded.

"It's kind of cooling down now, would you like to get under the covers?" Hermione asked, her fingers tracing the redheads jaw.

"I think that would be nice, I'm tired and ready to sleep" Ginny replied, pressing a tender kiss to the brunettes forehead. Sitting up slightly, both girls righted themselves. Pulling the top few layers of bedding out of the way, they climbed beneath it. The redhead wrapped the pair in the fabric gently before curling around Hermione.

"Hey Gin?" Came the brunette's voice.

"Yeh?" Ginny answered, her voice somewhat thicker with sleep.

"Loci can't hear what you're thinking all the time can he?" Hermione asked slightly worried.

"I doubt he'd have heard much if he was listening for the past little while." Ginny laughed before continueing with "He can't unless I speak directly to him, and the same the other way around" She reassured the smaller girl.

"Oh that's okay then" Hermione smiled to herself, snuggling backwards into the redheads grip.

"Goodnight 'Mione" Ginny spoke finally with a satisfied yawn.

"Goodnight Gin" Hermione mumbled before sleep could take it's full hold on her.


End file.
